


Dreaming With A Broken Heart

by Shenandoah76209



Series: Be Brave [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 05:38:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9420956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shenandoah76209/pseuds/Shenandoah76209
Summary: Gold has always dreamed of her. If only he could change reality. Songfic.





	

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart_   
_The waking up is the hardest part_   
_You roll outta bed and down on your knees_   
_And for the moment you can hardly breathe_   
_Wondering was she really here?_   
_Is she standing in my room?_   
_No she's not, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...._

Even before Regina's curse he'd dreamed of Belle. Of the joy on her face when she'd looked at him. Of the change that had grown over her face when he'd caught her in his arms. She'd been so lovely, pale skin and dark hair, her eyes warm and soft and kind. He'd known she was beautiful, but he hadn't know how kind she was, how brave, or how good a woman. Caged as he was, powerless, his dreams were both punishment and solace.

He dreamed of how she'd kissed him. How it had felt, the touch of her lips and her hands on his face. He dreamed of the pleading on her face when he'd thrust her away. And he dreamed the impossible that he'd begged her forgiveness. He dreamed that she'd given him another chance. And he woke cursing that his dreams weren't real.

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart_   
_The giving up is the hardest part_   
_She takes you in with your crying eyes_   
_Then all at once you have to say goodbye_   
_Wondering could you stay my love?_   
_Will you wake up by my side?_   
_No she can't, 'cause she's gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...._

Terrible as his dreams were, the nightmares were worse. He dreamed terrible things. The look of scorn on her father's face when she returned to her village and his house. The accusations hurled at her regarding Gaston's disappearance. In his nightmares Belle begged her father to listen, begged him to understand. But the man would have none of her, disavowing her, insisting that he had no daughter.

The nightmares never stopped with her father breaking her heart, just as he had broken it himself. They didn't end with tears on her face. He saw her beaten over and over, bones cracked and her delicate body twisted and 'cleansed'. He saw her refusing to break even when her father himself whipped her, her skin splitting open, blood running from the nape of her neck to the backs of her thighs. The nightmares never stopped there. His conscience was never that merciful.

He saw her face grow numb with the torture and insults. Saw her beautiful eyes grow dull and listless. And he saw over and over again, her pained walk to the window of the tower where they kept her. Saw a bitter and anguished smile curve her lips as she threw herself from the window.

_Now do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand_   
_Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand?_   
_Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand?_   
_Do i have to fall asleep with roses in my hand?_   
_Baby won't you get them if i did?_   
_No you won't, 'cause you're gone, gone, gone, gone, gone...._

Gold woke in his palatial house with a curse. The same nightmare that always chased his sleep. He restrained a sigh and looked at the bedside table. He put a fresh cut red rose in a slender vase on that table every night so he'd wake to it opening slightly in the morning.

Morning ablutions taken care of he selected his clothing and mentally reviewed his calendar for the day. A wickedly smug smile curved his lips. Today was the day the loan was due on Mr. French's truck. His sources told him that Mr. French did not have the means to repay the loan. That meant Mr. French would lose his truck, and without the means to deliver his floral arrangements the business would suffer.

Gold's smile didn't fade until he set eyes on the chipped cup he kept on his desk. No matter what punishment was, it didn't matter what he did to French, the man could never be tormented enough. Nothing in the world could bring Belle back.

Gold did sigh now. He could torment and punish French all he liked but Belle's death was as much his fault as her fathers. He sat at his desk and picked up the cup, pressed his lips to the chipped rim and shook his head as he set it down. "If I could change anything Belle, I would change what happened to you." He looked out the window, a pretty day, the sort that she had loved. "I would change my own behavior."

The most powerful man in Storybrooke left his home to do business, only the echo of his last words hanging in the still air. "You were right my love, I am a coward. But I am a constant one."

_When you're dreaming with a broken heart_   
_The waking up is the hardest part_


End file.
